Butterfly Kisses
by doomcherries
Summary: Grissom bonds with his daughter.


Disclaimer: I own nothing except all six seasons on DVD.

A/N: Special thanks to dreamsofhim for doing a quick beta for me. :) If you like, please review.

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Sara managed to open the front door, juggling the bags of groceries. Closing the door with her foot, she placed the bags on the counter with a sigh. Shrugging off her coat, Sara frowned; the house was quiet. Too quiet.

Padding into the living room, she saw the magazine Grissom had been reading open on the coffee table, his glasses laying haphazardly next to it. The spot on the couch where Grissom usually sat was empty.

"Grissom?" she called out, walking to the study. She found it just as empty as the living room.

Making her way to the hallway, she paused at the entrance to their bedroom, peering in. Noticing the sheets still perfectly pulled up; her frown deepened.

'_Where the hell could he be?'_

Finally heading up the stairs, Sara froze at the top, finding the door to the nursery open. Quietly walking to the door, she leaned against the frame, watching as Grissom stood above the crib, talking softly to the infant cooing up at him.

A smile broke out on her face.

Looking down into the crib, Grissom found his nine-month-old daughter, her left foot jammed in her mouth, a tiny smile on her face as she gurgled up at him.

"I see you're happy after your nap. Your mother will appreciate that," he whispered down at her.

Removing her foot from her mouth, she let out a laugh, waving her hands up at him, wanting to be held.

"Dada! Dadadadada!"

His entire face lit up as he reached down and hefted the infant in his arms. Her big brown eyes followed his blue ones as she let out another gurgled laugh, her brown curls bouncing around her face.

"Oh, my little Ladybug. When did you get so big, huh? You look just like your mother, you know that?"

More gurgles came at him. Her chubby arms reached towards the wall, her fingers pointing at the framed butterflies.

"You like those? I like those, too. That's why I made Mommy move some in here."

From the doorway Sara let out a small laugh. She remembered quite vividly arguing with Grissom about how to decorate their daughter's room. In the end, however, his fight to place some of his butterflies on the wall won out.

"That one is _Astraptes alector_," he said, pointing to a butterfly with blue and brown wings, "It means 'Gilbert's Flasher' which you will learn someday is your father's name. And that one," he started, moving his finger towards a butterfly with gray wings with yellow near the edges, "is _Plebejus melissa, _which is how you got your name. Pretty, isn't it?

The little girl brought her attention back to her father, wrapping as much of her arms around his neck as she could. Then she surprised him by giving him her version of a kiss: open mouthed and sloppy, right on the nose.

"Thank you, Ladybug," he laughed, wiping his nose.

One little hand came up to pat his face, her laugh ever present. Turning her attention towards the floor, she pointed at it indicating she wanted to walk. With help, of course. Grissom set Melissa on her own two feet and wrapped her small hands around his index fingers. Stepping one foot in front of the other, her laugh echoing off the walls, she led Grissom to the window.

Letting go of his hands, Melissa grasped the edge of the windowsill and peered out. Her incoherent babble increased as she saw a bird fly by, exciting her more so than the butterflies on her wall.

Sitting down next to her, Grissom watched her with an unbridled enthusiasm as she squealed at everything outside the confines of her room. He watched as she brought her attention back to him and pointed frantically at the window, her tiny fingerprints dotting the glass.

"That, Melissa," he said, noticing her focus of attention, "is a spider. And Daddy loves spiders, so someday you will, too."

Sara let out a snort and knew instantly she had given away her position.

Melissa craned her neck to follow the sound and squealed when she saw her mother.

"Mama!"

Turning in surprise, Grissom watched as Melissa fell on her butt and quickly crawled her way over to where Sara was now standing. Holding her arms out, Sara took hold of her daughter. Almost instantly, Melissa's small arms wrapped around her neck, her fingers lodging themselves in her hair. More giggles escaped from her lips as Sara bounced her.

Standing up, Grissom walked over to her, clearing his throat nervously. "How long were you watching?"

"Long enough," she smiled, carefully hugging him while trying not to trap their daughter between them. Sara planted a small, sweet kiss on his lips before stepping back a few paces.

He let out a sigh, "She just amazes me, Sara. She makes me believe I can be a good father."

"You _are_ a good father. Grissom, she loves you. Look at how happy she is," Sara said, looking down at Melissa.

Grissom followed her gaze also watching as Melissa gnawed on a piece of her own hair, a string of saliva hanging from her chin. Bringing his right hand up to her face, he moved the strand of hair from her mouth. He laughed as she took hold of his index finger and popped it in her mouth, using it like a teething ring.

Looking up at Sara she saw the twinkle in his eye.

"Oh. Sara, I want ten more."

Scoffing, she looked at him as if he was nuts. "I'm all for having more, babe, but until you start pushing an eight pound baby out of your vagina, I'll call the baby making shots around here."

Grissom let out a hearty laugh, planting kiss on Sara's forehead. "I love you."

"Mmm," she mumbled, "I love you, too."


End file.
